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The 30-year-old father said: 'There were just 10 guns pointing at my face as soon as I opened the door. I'm not angry with the police - they are just doing their jobs - but why are people saying that Moat is round at our house?

'I've come down the stairs and there are about 10 guns pointing straight at me. They've left the cartridge and that's made me angry - I don't want my kid finding that.

'My daughter was at school and it's a good job she wasn't here to see what was going on.'

The mother, 26, added: 'I was told to stand in the window with my hands showing while they took out my husband and made him kneel in the street.

'I heard shouting but I didn't think anything of it. All of a sudden I realised what was happening.They were pointing guns at me and shouting. They handcuffed him and then I was led out.

'They made me give them a layout of the house and then they just went in and started looking round. We didn't even know Moat that well. We used to see him on the estate but that's as close as we got to him.

'e're told the police were phoned and told he was here - it's absolute rubbish. It was a frightening experience because they were carrying these big guns. The street has been full of people. I can't believe this has happened.'

Blunder: A policeman collects the ammunition from the house

The clear plastic magazine is branded with the words 5.56x45mm calibre - high-powered bullets used in M16 American assault rifles.

Northumbria Police were alerted to the security scare and a spokesman promised a full investigation into the matter.

'We will fully investigate the circumstances,' he said.

A neighbour who saw the swoop said: 'The dogs were on their chains outside and I heard them barking so I opened the door. There was a policeman right outside with a great big gun.

'I was terrified. He shouted at me to get back in the house. Looking out of the window I could see the police going into the house. There were about five police cars and a van, as well as dogs. They got them out of the house, I could see how frightened they looked. I felt so sorry for them."

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Raoul Thomas Moat: Armed police leave ammunition at family home after search